# Leicester South West (UK Parliament constituency)

Leicester South West was a borough constituency in the city of Leicester. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The constituency was created for the 1950 general election, and abolished for the February 1974 general election.

## Boundaries

The County Borough of Leicester wards of Aylestone, Castle, De Montfort, and North Braunstone.
The constituency included Leicester city centre, which since this seat's abolition in 1974 has been in Leicester South.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| 1950 | Herbert Bowden | Labour | Resigned 1967 to become Chairman of the Independent Television Authority |
| 1967 by-election | Tom Boardman | Conservative |
| Feb 1974 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Leicester South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Herbert Bowden | 23,399 | 54.61 | |
| | Conservative | Dorothy Russell | 14,727 | 34.37 | |
| | Liberal | Thomas Allan Pratt | 4,720 | 11.02 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,672 | 20.24 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,846 | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
General election 1951: Leicester South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Herbert Bowden | 24,340 | 58.39 |
| | Conservative | Edward Harold Wall | 17,347 | 41.61 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,993 | 16.78 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,687 | 82.54 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1955: Leicester South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Herbert Bowden | 21,487 | 55.83 |
| | Conservative | Dorothy Russell | 16,998 | 44.17 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,489 | 11.66 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,485 | 76.05 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1959: Leicester South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Herbert Bowden | 17,395 | 46.41 | |
| | Conservative | David Walder | 14,652 | 39.09 | |
| | Liberal | John W Ward | 5,438 | 14.51 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,743 | 7.32 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,485 | 78.48 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Leicester South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Herbert Bowden | 16,957 | 49.38 |
| | Conservative | Tom Boardman | 12,851 | 37.42 |
| | Liberal | Thomas Allan Pratt | 4,533 | 13.20 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,106 | 11.96 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,341 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
General election 1966: Leicester South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Herbert Bowden | 18,822 | 58.65 |
| | Conservative | Tom Boardman | 13,268 | 41.35 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,554 | 17.30 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,090 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | |
1967 Leicester South West by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tom Boardman | 12,897 | 51.63 | +10.28 |
| | Labour | Neville Sandelson | 8,958 | 35.86 | −22.79 |
| | Liberal | Colin J. Beech | 3,125 | 12.51 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,939 | 15.77 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,980 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Leicester South West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Tom Boardman | 14,611 | 45.7 | +4.4 |
| | Labour | Colin Grundy | 14,505 | 45.3 | −13.3 |
| | Liberal | Joseph T. Roper | 2,124 | 6.6 | N/A |
| | National Front | John Kyneston | 749 | 2.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 106 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,989 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |